Misery's Company
by Raven's secret-keeper
Summary: The perfect rainy day turns out to be a great adventure for a slightly gothic teen when her world collides with the ever-interesting world of Ruby Gloom. It starts as just finding a new friend in the woods, but it isn't long before she gets a fullon tour.
1. Chapter 1

_My very first story with a first person POV! And my first ever Ruby Gloom fanfic! -Woot!-_

_Update coming very soon! I think I left this one as quite a cliffhanger…-grins-_

_Read and review,_

_**Raven's secret-keeper**_

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **_

_**Misery's Company – a Ruby Gloom fanfic**_

_**Prologue**_

I sighed contentedly, closing my eyes as I leaned against the slate hill behind me. I felt so at peace here, alone, sitting in that tiny part of the river that had a sleek bed and only an inch of water. Not to mention the honeysuckle bush draping over me like a weeping willow; it was as if I was being separated from the real world and could relax and live in my own. The solitary, perfumed air made it all the more enjoyable – here in the forest, skimpy as it was, you got all the fresh scents of nature in the air, but right in "my spot", you had the honeysuckles and the river making the air all the more sweet.

Today had just seemed like the perfect day to be here in Big Creek Parkway, since I saw that sky… The moment I looked out my window and saw those beautifully dark and heavy clouds rolling in, I had an urge to go dancing in the rain. The only problem was that whole parental protection thing… My parents would never let me go alone, they never had and probably never would until I moved out… Well, I managed to work my way around that with a little creative planning, and after making one phone call and getting permission to go with Saundra, my friend and her dad came and picked me up… then dropped me off and let me enjoy my alone time. (I had only said we were _going_ together; I never said we'd stay together!)

So now here I was, all alone. I opened my eyes and looked towards the sky, smiling as I saw how full those clouds looked, bidding for rain to come any moment now. All I needed to do to make this day perfect was to wait for the rain to actually come.

And that's when I heard the scream.

* * *

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Review please - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**-Raven's secret-keeper**_


	2. Misfit Meets Misfortune

_Read and review,_

_**Raven's secret-keeper**_

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **_

_**Misery's Company – a Ruby Gloom fanfic**_

_**Chapter 1: Misfit Meets Misfortune**_

"_Ruby!"_

Okay, so I admit it was more of a call than a scream, but it still startled the heck out of me. I jsumped up with a small gasp; that noise came out of _nowhere!_

"'Ruby'?" I asked myself aloud. I stood up and glanced around before I heard the voice again, only this tine it was more questioning than calling out.

And then my curiosity took over and I began following the calls.

After a few seconds, the voice resounded through the trees once more._"Ruuuuu-uuuby!"_

_It sounds like I'm getting closer,_ I told myself. I crossed the bike path and took off running into the much more wild part of the forest, feeling my heartbeats coming faster and faster in excitement with every step. The trees kept thickening, but my steps kept quickening as I bolted on. I had never actually _met_ someone so desperate they were calling out like this… It seemed like I was about to embark on some great adventure, like I was at the beginning of a movie. Little did I know, I _was_ about to go on an adventure, just not in the way I had thought.

Then I heard a small yelp and the sounds of leaves shifting, a branch snapped… I shot towards the source of the noise as the first few crystalline drops of rain began to fall from the sky.

"Hello?" I called, gingerly pushing aside a thornbush and stepping over it slowly, suddenly realizing that I really should be more careful around this part of the forest…

"Ow," the voice I had been hearing muttered shortly.

With the clouds now pouring bucketfuls of water down at a time, I pushed aside a small tree and peered through the shrubbery.

My eyes widened with absolutely amazement as I saw her. Her hair, the veil, her dress… It was almost like she had been pulled from a storybook; she looked far too… _elegant_ to be meandering a forest like this, especially one so close to the suburb…

"Are you okay?" I asked, stepping around the tree and jogging over to her. She was stuck in the same kind of brambly plant I had managed to avoid – only this bush was much bigger.

She turned her head to the draping sleeve she had been trying to pry from the nettles and looked up at me.

I couldn't help my concerned gasp at her expression. Tears were streaming down her face from wide, desolate eyes. "Are you okay?!" I yelped, kneeling next to her and trying to help free her arms.

"A little lost – " She grunted softly and lifted her arm, the cloth around it finally free.

"That looks painful," I told her, moving to her other arm.

"I've felt worse," she replied in a voice to match her expression.

A branch snapped just as we pulled her other arm loose, and she winced as she fell deeper into the bush.

"Oh wow," I muttered, reaching in cautiously for her hand. "Here."

She clutched my arm, and we began pulling her up. I felt a shock of tension jolt through her as she braced her legs against the ground; she had to step through the rest of the branches to reach the ground.

After a bit of effort, we managed to get her onto her feet, and she caught her balance before we began pulling her long, _long_ dress out. I was holding the fabric with a delicate touch that was practically insane – I didn't want to rip it….

When we finally got that free, she stood up straight and I took a second to really look her over.

Her skin had a pale, almost blue color, and the frown on her face looked like it had been there her entire lifetime. The sheer blue veil on her head was held out of her face by two clasps in her hair – ironically, they were yellow circles with outward-pointing triangles surrounding them; they looked like two tiny suns. And her almost entirely blue dress looked so Victorian – the sleeves fell over her arms and hung down in three elegant sections, her top had three yellow buttons down the middle, and her neck had a brooch and lace framing the bottom of her head. The skirt was so long, it trailed it trailed behind her for about a foot, and the hair under the veil –

"You're hair's still stuck!" I gasped, and she watched as I struggled to untangle it for a few moments before joining in. It was a pretty hopeless attempt, and I ended up having to grab the plant and having to bend and twist it until the stem snapped. Though my solution to_that_ problem left the issue of her walking around with thorns adorning her hair…

"Well, at least your hair's free now," I muttered, glancing at one of the thorns still entangled and hoping it doesn't prick her when she walks. "Wow," I breathed. I was completely envious of how long and dark it was – I had always wanted my hair to grow really long;_insanely_ long to most people…

"Thanks," she told me, and I shifted my gaze to her face.

"Oh, you're welcome. So, what exactly _happened_ to you?"

"I'm not really sure," she replied in an almost monotone voice, wincing as she yanked a thorn from her hair.

"You said before that you were lost…"

"Yeah.. Something tells me I'm not in – ow – Gloomsville anymore."

"'Gloomsville'?" I replied, my head tilted as I reran the name in my head at least a dozen different ways. But one thing stayed the same: I loved the sound of it. "So, where's that?"

"It's – " A clap of thunder broke her off, and she glanced towards the sky uneasily as lightning illuminated the world.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She turned to me and replied, "Being outside _probably_ isn't a good idea…"

Suddenly I felt my mod skyrocket as an idea sparked in my mind. "Hey, we can stay dry at _my_ house if you want!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure! Come on, we've gotta get back to the road…" I took her hand and led her away from the thorns and onto the bicycle path.

"You don't mind walking a little bit, do you?"

She shook her head.

"It's not that far, just a few blocks… It's really weird how close the forest is to the main road… This way." We turned left when the road forked. "I hope my parents won't mind letting you stay for awhile," I muttered, suddenly almost dreading their reaction. I got over that one quickly as I slowed down a bit, remembering that her dress was pretty long, and I didn't want her to trip – not everyone was as agile on these rocky paths as I was… "They shouldn't have a problem with it… as long as… well, you're lost, right?"

I turned as the path took another turn and we were now almost out of the trees. "Yes."

"Then there's no reason you can't stay. Alright, we're almost there," I said as the sound of cars passing by slowly met our ears and the wet pavement met our eyes. "Just a few more steps, and we'll be – "

I was forced to a halt. Just as we emerged from the trees, thunder cracked again, but this time the streak of lightning didn't stay in the sky, it streaked straight to my companion.

"_Whoa!"_ I yelped, jumping back with wide eyes and a tense tone. "What just - ? Oh my – Are you okay?!"

"Ow," she said, blinking a few times.

"Are you okay?!" I asked again, resuming my spot at her side, only this time I was almost too stunned to think.

"It's happened before," she replied, and I blinked in confused amazement at her; her entire body had been darkened by the bolt, her hair was completely singed, and there was a tiny flame at the end of her dress.

"What - ? _Before - ?_ How did you - ?!"

"It's genetic," she told me, pinching out the small flame with her fingers.

"How is getting struck by lightning _genetic?!"_

"The electricity's drawn to the high lead content in our blood," she replied simply.

I was completely appalled by her calm reaction. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, a little weirded out by how little the electricity seemed to affect her. "Doesn't it at least _hurt?_"

"Yes, it's not very pleasant… but I'll be fine…"

"Are you sure you're not just… numb or something? Cuz… being struck by lightning _kills_ people sometimes…"

"I'm sure."

"You're amazing," I told her with a flat tone. "Good thing nobody pays attention when they're driving, because you'd be all over the news media… Wow… I guess today just isn't your lucky day…"

"It's never my lucky day," she told me, her tone as neutral as ever. "Things like this happen all the time…"

"Why? Are you a bad-luck magnet or something?"

"Pretty much," she said with a shrug. "It's another family quality. At least, that's what my great, great, great, great grandmother's cousin on my father's side used to say. "

"Oh…" I shifted, suddenly feeling sheepish. "Uh, sorry… "

"It's okay… You kind of get used to it after awhile…"

"I guess so… Maybe we'd better get back to the house…" And we started off again. Once we had turned off the parkway path and we walking along the sidewalk that ran parallel to the road, I couldn't help saying, "Your family's luck can't be _that_ bad… I mean, there's still family members left… right…?"

"A few…"

"Hey, your luck can't be too bad; I'd say you're a miracle worker!"

"Miracle? How…?"

"You just survived being _struck by lightning!_ That's _amazing!_"

"Huh… I've never though of it that way…"

"Wow… I don't know if I'll ever get over that… How many other times in your life has that happened?"

"At least twice," she replied.

"You're so… I don't know, casual about it…"

"Like I said, you get used to it."

"So, what other kinds of things happen?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but she didn't even get a single word out. A minivan went by going at least twenty miles over the speed limit, and it sped right through a puddle forming on the side of the road; the result was a six-feet high splash that threw rainwater over both of us.

"Maybe that wasn't you," I said, shaking my arms and picking a leaf out of my hair.

"It probably was," she responded bluntly.

"Well, that water probably took some of the sting out of the electrocution, huh?"

"Not much…"

"Welll… Come on, we have some ice packs at home, and plenty of things you can rub on to help stop the pain…"

She sighed, her hair falling in front of her face, before we went on, silent until we turned up my home's driveway.

"Alright, here we are," I told her, hesitating for a second to brace myself against whatever came before I actually turned the doorknob.

* * *

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Review please - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**-Raven's secret-keeper**_


	3. Welcome If it's what you can call it!

_Read and review,_

_**Raven's secret-keeper**_

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **_

_**Misery's Company – a Ruby Gloom fanfic**_

_**Chapter 2: Welcome, if that's what you can call it**_

I hesitated with my hand on the brass handle for half a moment, listening as our dog's bark resounded through the house and waiting for the sound of my family members telling her to calm down.

I glanced at my travel companion for a second, realizing that there _was_ no shushing, and I knew something was going on – And then I realized that her desolate eyes suddenly seemed wider, and a bit nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"Your dog won't attack me - ?"

"Oh no!" I reassured her immediately. "She's really loud, but she's actually extremely friendly once you get to know her. Trust me, the first thing she'll do is drop her toy at your feet."

"Toy?"

I smiled, and knowingly replied, "Trust me, you'll see." And then I pulled open the door.

Out of nowhere came the sound of children imitating monster noises and cat-like growls, and then I was pounced on like a mouse by my youngest siblings.

"Jessie, Jessie!" they squealed, wrapping their arms around my waist like the overzealous beings they were – unwittingly constricting my breathing and almost knocking me over with their sudden tackle; these two were getting bigger by the hour…

"Did we _scare_ you?" my little brother asked, and I chuckled. "You know better than to try to scare _me!_" I replied proudly.

"You're _never_ scared!" my even younger sister added, crossing her arms and feigning frustration, but smiling playfully. I swear, the things these two pick up from TV… but she looked cute, I had to give her that.

"Nope." I wrapped an arm around each of their waists, then I pretended to be suffocating. "Not that this isn't fun and all, but breathing is nice too!"

They let me go – only to begin chasing each other around the driveway and pretending to tackle each other like a pair of kittens.

"Guys, come in, it's raining!" Mother calling us in when it's _raining, _go figure – but I guess I'm lucky; _this _particular mother's tone was playful and not scolding – well, not _entirely _scolding, at least.

"But that's why I like it so much," I called back cheerfully.

"Jessica's home," my oldest little sister's voice was heard calling, and I glanced in the house through the doorway to see her facing the kitchen before she turned and resumed her perch at the computer.

"You had something to do with this stampede, _didn't_ you?"

"Mayyyybe," I replied playfully as my mother came around the corner and out of the kitchen. "So where's Saundra?" she asked.

Usually my friend tried to stay at my house as long as possible, so naturally it seemed weird for her to leave before the door even opened.

I told her with a shrug, "They just dropped me off and left." I never said they dropped me off _here. _Again with the loopholes…

"Hey, who's this?" She nodded towards the newcomer.

"I found her stuck in a thornbush in the forest, and she said she was lost, so… I helped her out and figured she could stay here until she found a way home," I answered, my expression subtly pleading. I picked each and every word carefully, improvising and hoping to play on her naturally maternal side; when it came to children, my mother had at least a little sympathy for each and every one out there. And with this girl's expression, who _wouldn't_ feel sorry for her?

"Do you at least _know_ her?"

"A little, yeah."

"Well, okay… I _suppose_ she can stay." The hesitation in her voice was completely playful, that smile on her face was there to prove it. "Friends are always welcome here. So, what's your name?"

I glanced over my shoulder as she answered, suddenly realizing that I hadn't asked.

"Misery."

"Really?" my mom asked.

I titled my head and blinked. "Huh… makes sense," I muttered to myself with a shrug.

"Okay then. Well, Misery, you can stay here for a little while." She turned to me for a split second, her expression reinforcing the "_little_ while" part.

"Why is her name Misery?" my brother asked, his expression one of obvious confusion.

I thought for a moment and opened my mouth to reply, but my youngest sister cut me off.

"Because she's miserable?" she offered with only a hint of uncertainty.

"Pretty much." I glanced over my shoulder to the unfortunate one with a sympathetic smile.

"Go get her!" the oldest of my younger siblings suddenly called, and, having been locked up indoors since the clouds came out and at the age where energy is all too plentiful, my siblings ran up to Misery like a bolt of human lightning and gave her their own version of welcome.

Poor Misery wasn't braced for anything like that to happen, and the force of their over-eager hug knocked her right off her feet.

My mood changed immediately when I heard her head hit the concrete.

The two on top jumped to their feet nervously, glancing at each other and giggling all of a sudden.

"Guys, what are you - ? Misery, are you okay?" I asked as I kneeled next to her and blinked.

She sat up, her expression completely blank and dazed, and she began singing in a weary and uneven voice, "London Bridge is falling down – " And then she collapsed again.

My youngest sister, the more musical of the two, picked up where she left off and giggled again before my brother pretended to pounce on my sister, and they ran back inside the house.

"Oooh-kay…" By now I was completely used to their hyperactivity. I waved my hand in front of Misery's face, and she managed to get herself up again.

This time I took her hand and helped her stand up straight. Though not for long; she tottered, and I barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground again.

"You're really having a rough time today…"

"Nothing new," she mumbled, rubbing the back of her head.

"Come on, let's get you some ice." I wrapped my arm around her shoulder before we made a successful attempt at walking, and I led her into the living room. "Welcome to my home," I said, almost laughing at exactly what kind of welcome it really was…

We passed through the dining room, and the computer, and turned right before making the daring move of entering our kitchen (who knows what kind of mold we have growing in that fridge), and I left Misery leaning against the counter and grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer.

"Do you have a first aid kit?" Misery asked as she applied the pack and walked over to the sink, running cold water over her hand.

"Yeah, we have a couple in the bathroom over there."

"How many?" She glanced across the living room, following my gaze.

"Two or three. Why?"

"If you really plan on letting me stay… you might want to stock up."

I tilted my head, then shrugged. "Okay, makes sense, how many would you recommend?"

"Well…" She shifted the ice pack and I began leading us to the room. "I have 7,655 at home…"

"Uh…" Okay, how does someone respond to that…? "Ummm… I can… see why…? Did you actually _count _ those?!"

She nodded. "And I know that if I have seven years of bad luck every time I cracked a mirror, I would have 30,660 days, and so far there have been 9,752 earthquakes in my family history, and – "

"How do you _remember_ all those numbers? It took me three weeks just to memorize the multiplication tables." She just never ceased to surprise me. "Wait, that many earthquakes 'so far'?"

"Last time I tried jumping rope, it ended in disaster."

"Whoa…" Every little thing seemed dangerous to her; I couldn't help wondering of it was even safe for her to have a snack… (And oh, would I find out tomorrow!) "You're so calm about all of this… I'd probably be driven insane…"

"I try not to think too much about it," she replied casually.


End file.
